Paranormal Guest Author: Melodie Campbell (Rowena Through the Wall)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Melodie Campbell!  Melodie is the author of Rowena Through the Wall.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Melodie:  When I was 16.  I wrote a children's book, Horatio Hedgehog, which won an award and was displayed in the Toronto library.

I picked up writing in a big way in my 30s, when I become a humour columnist and starting writing stand-up for comedians.  Then short stories (30 published) and then finally a novel.  I have over 200 publications and have won 5 awards for fiction.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Melodie:  Well, funny you would ask that!  I may have to turn in my crime writer stripes.  (I am the General Manager of Crime Writers of Canada.)

Charlaine Harris brought me to paranormal.  And Diana Gabaldon, and Susanna Kearsley, with Marianna.  I was a confirmed mystery reader, but a closet romantic suspense reader.  Mary Stewart's My Brother Michael is still the book I measure all others to.  Then I hit the wonderful world of combining suspense with paranormal, and I was hooked.  I love the freedom of something out of our world.  And while I want a romance in my stories, I crave a lot of plot.  Paranormal by its very nature delivers strong plots.

But to explain Rowena:  one day I was sitting at my desk, totally overwhelmed with work, family, and parental caregiving, and I thought - if I could walk through that wall over there into another world, I would do it.  That night, Rowena got her start.

I needed the wildest kind of escape from mother's palliative bedside.  Escape is what I hope to give readers.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Melodie:  OH - no question - the talent of my heroine, Rowena!  The ability to communicate with animals.  I am animal-mad, and have some ability to calm dogs, horses and particularly donkeys.  But to be able to share thoughts with them - that would be my dream.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Melodie:  I got my start writing comedy, so it was gratifying when one reviewer called Rowena Through the Wall "Hot and Hilarious!"  I wrote this novel as a fun escape novel for women.  I wanted it to be funny, sexy, with high adventure and romance - just what I needed for myself!  One reviewer called it "Jack Sparrow meets Stephanie Plum" - for me, that was humbling.

When Rowena walks through her classroom wall, she falls into an ancient world where the veneer of civilization is thin.  She has rollicking adventures, and then is forced to face reality when she goes back through the wall.  Inevitably, she is faced with a choice of what world to remain in.  Just like we all are, in a way.  We can have our fantasy worlds through reading, but we go back to our real lives after.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Melodie:  Rowena - probably Penny from Big Bang Theory, because she could carry the comedy.  She has great comedic timing.  Another choice would be Gemma Arterton, or Tina Fey, if she were 10 years younger. But I would love to hear who readers would cast in this role.

Kendra - definitely Alice from Twilight!

Gareth would be Thor!

Thane would be Alcide from True Blood.

And Cedric....well, I see Cedric as Eric from True Blood.  Evil, but oh so darn attractive.  In fact, I am half in love with my villain.  I wonder if other readers will feel that way too.

Rowena Through the Wall by Melodie Campbell

“Is that a broadsword on your belt, or are you just glad to see me?”

When Rowena falls through her classroom wall and lands in an alternate world, she doesn't count on being kidnapped―not once, but twice. Unwanted husbands keep piling up, but that doesn't stop her from falling for the wrong brother. Good thing she has the ability to go back through the wall. Or can she?

Warning: This book is not a 'sweet' romance - it is a sexy, funny, rollicking adventure with a spunky heroine and the medieval 'men' of her dreams!


Thank you Melodie for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Melodie Campbell and her books, please visit her website.

Note: Melodie is offering a special discount for From the Shadows readers.   
Want a half price coupon for the ebook version of 'Rowena Through the Wall'? Leave a comment on this post, with your contact info!

Character Interview: Rylie Gresham (All Hallows' Moon)

Please welcome our very special guest Rylie Gresham from the pages of Six Moon Summer and All Hallows' Moon by S.M. Reine.

SM:  Thanks for joining us today, Rylie! Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself?

Rylie:  Okay. Yeah. Hi, my name is Rylie Gresham. I'm about to turn sixteen years old. I hang out in coffee shops and sometimes drink coffee even though my mom said that's why I'm all skinny and short. I like art and movies and hanging out with guys, since girls are catty and weird. I also had a really bizarre summer.

SM:  What made your summer bizarre?

Rylie:  Well, my parents divorced, and they sent me to summer camp so their lawyers could fight in peace. I guess summer camp isn't that strange for most people, but I used to hate the outdoors, so it was really new and unusual for me. Until... things changed.

SM:  That sounds menacing.

Rylie:  If you think werewolf bites are menacing.

SM:  Whoa! So what you're saying is that you're a werewolf.

Rylie:  Yeah, I guess, something like that.

SM:  How can you be "something like that"?

Rylie:  I'm not like most werewolves. It took, like, three months for me to change after I got bitten. And I don't just change on the full moon. I change on the new moon too. But once I wake up human again the next morning, I can never remember what I did all night. I'm not dangerous or anything, I promise. I did eat a deer once, but that was an accident.

SM:  What are you going to do now that you're a werewolf?

Rylie:  I'm going to go live on my aunt's ranch. She's out in the country, so it should be safe for me to turn into a wolf twice a month out there. Way safer than in my mom's condo. Plus I'm really strong now that I got bitten, so I bet I'm awesome at ranch type chores.

SM:  Does your aunt know?

Rylie:  No! Nobody can find out that I've changed. I mean, who would believe me? The only guy who knew was Seth, but I don't know what happened to him.

SM:  Who is Seth?

Rylie:  Seth is really mysterious, so he's hard to describe. He's got dark hair and broad shoulders and miles and miles of muscly arms. And he's got that smile... Wait, what was I talking about?

SM:  How does Seth know about werewolves?

Rylie:  He's got a huge secret of his own. I don't think I'm supposed to tell anyone.

SM:  What's going to happen now?

Rylie:  I don't know. I guess I have to try to finish high school, although that means a whole new set of people to get used to, and a whole bunch of new problems to face. But whatever it is, I can take it on. I mean, I'm a werewolf now. I can just eat anything that gives me trouble.

All Hallows' Moon (Seasons of the Moon #2) by S.M. Reine

Rylie survived becoming a werewolf at great cost. She moves to her aunt’s ranch in the hopes she can enroll in a new high school and quietly continue her life... with a few distinct changes. She transforms into a beast every new and full moon and struggles to control her murderous urges.

Without many werewolves left, it’s hard to stay in hiding. A family of hunters -- Eleanor, Abel, and Seth -- recognize the signs and follow Rylie to her new home. They want to stop her before she murders someone, and the only way to do it is with a silver bullet. Seth soon realizes the werewolf is Rylie, the one monster he failed to kill. Worse yet, he’s still in love with her.

Torn between family and love, Rylie struggles to reconcile her feelings and control the wolf within while Seth fights to do what’s right. But what is right-- obeying desire or duty?


Thank you Rylie and S.M. for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about S.M. Reine and her books, please visit her website or check out E.J.'s interview of S.M. here at From the Shadows.

Don't miss E.J.'s review of Six Moon Summer, the first book in the Seasons of the Moon series by S.M. Reine.

Paranormal Guest Author: Shayne Leighton (Of Light and Darkness)

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Shayne Leighton!  Shayne is the author of Of Light and Darkness.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Shayne:  I've always loved to write, and actually began writing short stories back in grade school. I remember this one short story in particular that I wrote in the fourth grade about what it would be like to live inside a bubble! That's still one of my favorites. (LOL) But I only began seriously writing pretty recently. "Of Light and Darkness" is my debut novel, and the first full length novel I've ever written. I began writing that one in high school when I was sixteen. It took about four years to get it completed and published and I'm really excited to share this story with everyone!

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Shayne:  Again, I've always loved magic and fantasy for as far back as I can remember. Fairy tales were always my favorite. My favorite Disney movie was a film called "Hocus Pocus" starring Bette Midler, about three witches. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. So I was automatically attracted to the paranormal genre! And you can never go wrong with vampires...they are always sexy! ;) The first vampire I ever fell in love with was Lestat from Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire". Great movie and a fantastic book!

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Shayne:  This was an awesome question! It really got me thinking. My initial reaction was...Vampire! Definitely a vampire because they are just too deliciously bad. But after thinking about it more, I wanted to come up with a more interesting answer. I think I'd love to be a siren. I get to seduce sailors all day, I get to have a beautiful singing voice, and most importantly...I get fins! Sounds fun to me!

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release. 

Shayne:  I am definitely aware that bookshelves are absolutely saturated right now with vampire stories. But one thing I must emphasize, is this story is much different than the others. There are so many other fantastic creatures and characters woven in, and if I do say so myself, "Of Light and Darkness" is much darker and more dangerous. I think fans of other paranormal series will really find something they love within this book, but also discover something brand new as well. Plus, it takes place in Prague - which is a city you don't normally hear about much! :-)

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Shayne:  It's interesting you should ask this, because currently "Of Light and Darkness" is in development to be made into a film. My background is primarily in screenplay writing and filmmaking, so this just seemed like a natural next step to take with it. Currently we have Michael Welch from "The Twilight Saga" cast for the role of Aiden in the film and Cassie Scerbo from ABC Family's "Make It Or Break It" is slated for the role of Sarah. If you want to keep up with more casting announcements, check our facebook fan page! :-)

Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire's Daughter (Of Light and Darkness #1) by Shayne Leighton

When one human stands before an army of impossible obstacles, the likelihood of overcoming them in this coming-of-age modern fairytale may result in war between light and darkness.

Abandoned as an infant in Prague, naive and strong-willed Charlotte Ruzikova was raised by one of the last Vampires left alive. As a human, she knows no other home than the one nestled deep in the woods of Eastern Europe, where Witches drew spells of enchantment, Phasers threw tea parties, and Elves are the closest in kin. Charlotte has lived her life in the dark with her Guardian, content to having him to herself and reveling in his attention, until she's realizes she wants more...

Resident medical doctor and Vampire, Valek Ruzik fears the day his ward would come of age and blossom into a fine woman, and he is forced to confront his own motives as time is of the essence once his past catches up to him, and their lives become endangered...

As genocide and war threatens their secret society, the dictator in power is ready to wipe out Valek's race, but Charlotte will not allow that to happen. Fighting for the only one she's ever loved and truly believed in, she will do whatever it takes to save their love...before the sun comes up and light takes over.


Thank you Shayne for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Shayne Leighton and her books, please visit her website.